What's your idea of balance? Do you try to line everything up just right—pray nothing moves—and hold your breath, hoping it will all be over before things fall apart?

Or, does your balance move? You look around at what you've got, line some things up, and then let it live!

One of these approaches works. You even know which one. It just takes practice.

Tara and I were up in Boston this weekend for some Strala classes and training. We had a great time playing with lots of Strala first-timers!

Sometimes people do everything they do easily. They walk into class having done nothing but Tara's videos on YouTube. They didn't get the memo that says yoga is supposed to be hard. So nothing is hard for them!

Sometimes people do everything the hard way, even their yoga. I watched a few people the first night in Boston, holding strained and still in a crow— or a handstand—right up to the moment it all fell apart. We talked after class!

People so often think they have so many imbalances, so many limitations. My arm is too short, one elbow is bent, my shoulder is weak, my core needs strength, I'm not flexible, I'm not tall, I'm too tall, I'm too big, I'm too small ... so many limitations.

The thing is, not one of these people has any limitations! Except that they have this idea about themselves. And about what it takes to do the things they want to do.

That idea can change.

Life moves. Whether we're talking about balance - or success in anything at all - you won't win by stacking it all up perfectly and hoping nothing falls out of place. Those perfect immovable towers don't handle earthquakes so well. They don't even handle wind so well.

Nature moves. If you find yourself wanting things not to move—in order to keep your balance perfect—you're going to lose. If you find yourself wanting it all to be "perfect"—just like you think things should be—you're going to lose. You might pull it off for a tense few seconds. But you're going to lose.

There's no need to lose. Just change your mind. You can do this in an instant.

Michael Taylor

Co-Founder Of Strala Yoga & Tai Chi Expert

Mike Taylor is the co-founder of Strala along with his wife, Tara Stiles. He studied mind-body medicine at Harvard and complementary medicine at Oxford. Mike has practiced Eastern movement and healing, including tai chi and qigong, for more than 30 years. In his younger years, Mike challenged centuries of reasonable and well-tested martial traditions in hundreds of competitions by applying unruly imagination to a world where rules were unbreakable. His record established the strength of finding your own way in your own body rather than copying the techniques of other people’s traditions. As he got older, Mike continued on to medical applications of the mind-body connection in university. After running into walls with standard medical practice in the United States and England, he left his health care roots for a little while. As the first internet boom was getting started, he joined the startup team of one company, then founded a couple more. Now through Strala, Mike has found his way back to health care done right: helping people let go of stress in their bodies and minds, enable their lives, and become their own best caregivers.Mike has climbed some of the world’s largest mountains in Alaska, the Alps, and the Himalayas. He’s now a cyclist and runner and spends as much free time as possible exploring the backcountry on foot, skis, and snowboard. He lives in New York with his wife, Tara, and baby, Daisy.